


I'll Go Where You Feel

by Gorgeous Nerd (gorgeousnerd)



Series: dogdaysofsummer 2009 [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Community: dogdaysofsummer, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-08-04
Updated: 2009-08-04
Packaged: 2017-10-18 16:37:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/190963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gorgeousnerd/pseuds/Gorgeous%20Nerd
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sirius times a summer visit for the full moon and doesn't like what he sees.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'll Go Where You Feel

**Author's Note:**

> For [dogdaysofsummer](http://dogdaysofsummer.livejournal.com) 2009, [prompt 3](http://community.livejournal.com/dogdaysofsummer/238991.html). Also available on [its original community post](http://community.livejournal.com/dogdaysofsummer/245632.html), [my LJ fic community](http://community.livejournal.com/chomalfoyfics/17647.html), and [DW](http://firmament.dreamwidth.org/10255.html).

_It doesn't really matter, I'll go where you feel  
Hunt for the breeze, get a midnight meal_

Padfoot sniffed the air. The scent of wolf was present, but faint.

He darted across the forest floor. Even with the leaves overhead, the moonlight bathed the ground in light – it would have been white normally, but thanks to his dog eyes, the plants and rocks were shaded in hues of white and grey and nothing else. Moments under moonbeams made the world around him glow.

A break in the trees appeared, and he slowed to a crawl. It didn't take his nose to tell him the cave mouth in front of him was the place. If he hadn't been so focused on smelling a trail, he would have heard snarling and whining a good five minutes in advance.

When he changed back to Sirius, a howl split the air, echoed by the rattling of metal on metal.

Sirius pulled out his wand and edged away from the trees. A quiet word under his breath, and a glow appeared at the tip of his wand, breaking the newfound darkness enough for Sirius to see.

He almost wished he couldn't.

The wolf was chained to the wall of the cave. Sirius knew the chains were pure silver, since nothing else would restrain a werewolf, but he couldn't imagine why they were so small. The collar dug past the wolf's fur and into the flesh of his neck; blood spotted the dirt and decaying leaves beside the wolf. His ankles were also cuffed, although they looked a little less binding.

He strained against the chains as Sirius approached. This wasn't the first time Sirius had been around the wolf, but he'd never seen him so wide-eyed. There was a desperation behind the snapping and growling, a pain that made Sirius's chest tighten.

While he grit his teeth, he pointed his wand at the wolf. The chains unlocked, and the wolf flew forward. Sirius, in a flash of panic, realized his mistake. He stuffed his wand in his sleeve and transformed just as the wolf rammed into him.

It was a good thing, too; seconds after the wolf's head rammed his belly, he bit the scruff of Padfoot's neck and shook hard. Padfoot whined and struggled. The wolf's teeth took some fur and a little flesh, but he didn't have a good hold, so the dog slid out without too much injury. Certainly, less injury than he would have taken as Sirius.

Padfoot backed away and panted in an effort to cool down. The wolf snarled, but he backed up after a few heartbeats. He took his own turn to sniff the air, and he tore off into the brush to his left. Padfoot took up the pursuit, his heart pounding with exhilaration and a little fear.

This wasn't the Hogwarts grounds, and Sirius didn't have any backup. But this was the most like himself he'd felt all summer.

-

Remus registered sunlight on the other side of his eyelids before he woke up completely. He wondered at it, then marked the shooting pain and exhaustion he felt by simply breathing, and he remembered. The night hadn't been his; the day following would be best spent sleeping. And so, he went back to sleep.

The second time he woke up, he had to open his eyes to see the light. It was past midday, but only just, so the sun wasn't directly in his vision. The sky was covered in a thin and high layer of clouds, leaving the air muggy around him.

He groaned as he swiveled his head to the side. Grass tickled his cheek, and he flinched. There was grass neither in the cave nor in his bed, so he wasn't anywhere familiar. Of course, seeing nothing but a flat field before him could have told him as much, since the cave was firmly set in the woods around his parents' house. Merlin knew where he'd ended up.

"Remus? You awake?"

A jolt ran through Remus's body, and he bit his tongue to keep from groaning again. "Who's there?"

Grass crunched under shoes, and a rumpled Sirius appeared in view. He had leaves in his tousled hair and wrinkles in his robes – dress robes, no less. Remus crinkled his nose as unwashed teenage boy wafted in his direction.

"So you're not missing anymore," Remus said. "Brilliant."

Sirius bit his lip, then said, "I have no idea where we are, so I wouldn't say I'm found, either."

Remus opened his mouth to say that his parents were probably worried sick, but Sirius could probably guess on his own. Another wave of exhaustion swept over him, and he closed his eyes.

"You need a healer," Sirius said.

He opened his eyes again. "I'll be fine. How'd you find me in the first place?"

Sirius sat on the ground a couple feet from Remus. "You've sent me owls. I had your address."

"But I wasn't at my address."

"I went to your house and followed your trail. Your parents' trail, actually. Then their scent disappeared--"

"You were Padfoot the entire time?"

"Yeah," Sirius replied, leaning back on his hands. "Best way for an underaged wizard to travel."

If Remus had been feeling better, he would have given Sirius the fifth degree. He might have even found the words to give him a well-earned lecture for once. But he felt like dragon dung, so instead, he asked, "What happened with your parents?"

Sirius grimaced. "I didn't come here to talk about them."

"Then why did you come?"

A forced smile appeared on Sirius's face. "It's my first summer as an Animagus! I couldn't let you have all the fun by yourself, could I?"

"Yeah. Fun." Remus took a sharp breath. "James wrote your family."

"What?" He sounded a mixture of furious and betrayed. "Because I didn't write for a few days?"

"You were supposed to visit a week ago."

Sirius's eyes widened. "A week?"

"You didn't remember?" Remus said. "But you remembered the full moon? And my address?"

Sirius stood and kicked at the grass, sending a clod of dirt in the air. "What if I did?"

Remus sighed. Pain stabbed under his ribs, and he slid his arm up his bare torso and pressed down. The feeling eased. "If you aren't going to tell me what happened, why don't you clear off?"

"While you're naked? In a field?"

"Wouldn't be the first time."

"Fine." Sirius sat down again. "I was at a dinner with my parents and the git otherwise known as my brother. Mum asked Regulus about his friends, and..."

"And?"

Sirius looked at the ground. "He's trying to get in with the Death Eaters."

"Oh," Remus said. He couldn't think of anything else.

"I suspected, but..."

"And your parents?"

"Loved it, of course." Sirius ran a hand through his hair. When his fingers hit a leaf, he started picking the plant life out of his hair. "They went on and on about the family honour, and wizard pride. I hear it pretty much every other sentence, but this time...I couldn't listen. I walked out, changed, and ran."

"And you didn't stop running." It explained a lot: the dirty dress robes, the missed days. "Why here?"

"I saw the moon a couple nights back. James and I talked about visiting, so I'd already looked up your address on a map."

"So why didn't you leave me chained?"

Sirius frowned. "We've been running for months."

"But this isn't Hogwarts, and we don't have James or Peter," Remus said, wondering at Sirius's flinch. "What if I'd--"

"You didn't, okay?"

"Sirius."

"You have a big bloody scar around your neck, and you're asking me why?"

Remus reached a shaking hand to touch his throat. Sure enough, he felt raised tissue that stung with contact. "I must have grown since last summer."

Sirius glared at him, but said nothing. Remus put his arms on the ground and pushed against it. He cried out as every inch of his body protested, but managed to raise into a sitting position. Sirius reached forward and supported his weight, helping him rise the rest of the way.

"I haven't told my parents," Remus said, panting slightly.

"What?"

"That you know. They're so cautious, it'd probably send them 'round the bend."

Sirius took off his outer robes and draped them around Remus. "I guess we have that in common. We can't be ourselves around our parents."

Remus smiled. "You want to stay for a few days?"

"If you insist," Sirius said, rolling his eyes good-naturedly. He held out his hands, and Remus took them. Together, they set Remus on his feet, both ignoring the sounds he made.

"So what did we do last night?" Remus said, leaning on Sirius as they began to walk.

Sirius laughed. "Chased rabbits. Best meal I had in days."

He continued talking as Remus directed them both home.


End file.
